Chapter Log

Step 0 - Explanation
Status: Completed 
Est Time: 0.00, Actual: 0.00
Est Cost: $ 0.00, Actual: $ 0.00
Date Completed: 10/20/2005

There are some things that you need to do to finish a plane that aren't described in depth in the plans. Often, these are preparation steps for other areas that are hard to break up into time spent on each step. For example, suppose you make all of your jigs at once, as I did? Dividing that time up in the appropriate chapters would be a chore. This section will track the time I spent on tasks that affect the entire project, rather than just one chapter/step.

Step 1 - Making Templates
Status: Completed 
Est Time: 0.00, Actual: 11.50
Est Cost: $ 0.00, Actual: $ 0.00
Date Completed: 11/01/2005

I'm bringing John Slade up to help me with hot-wiring cores and some other tricky steps. To save time, I'm preparing all of my templates at once. To make them, I bought the duplicate M drawings set from Aircraft Spruce, so I don't need to trace anything. I first rough cut the templates close to their lines. Then I spray melamine sheets with 3M adhesive and stick on the templates. I use a bandsaw to cut close to the lines, then a sander to finish the job.

The job takes a while for each template, but it produces good results. If you follow this method, note that one template on the duplicate M drawing set has a slight offset in it that you'll want to correct. Other than that, it's straightforward work, just time consuming.

Step 2 - Fuel Sight Gauges and Level Sensors
Status: Completed 
Est Time: 4.00, Actual: 2.00
Est Cost: $ 0.00, Actual: $ 0.00
Date Completed: 03/08/2009

The sight gauges are now installed. Like many other builders, I bought Dennis Oelmann's gauges which basically consist of a clear plastic bubble about 1" wide and 6" tall. This gets epoxied over a white plastic backing plate in which two small holes have been drilled, one at the top and the other at the bottom, to allow fuel to flow in and out. A small red ball floats in the pocket this assembly forms, allowing easy view of the current fuel level in the strake behind the assembly.

John had problems with his sight gauges, specifically with the white plastic backing plate softening over time in auto fuel (the rest of the assembly seems fine). I did a LOT of research one week (hours not counted here) and found a form of plastic called polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), that has excellent resistance to both fuel and to ethanol, which is in our auto fuel. It also has excellent dimensional stability - it's an ideal product for tank applications.

I was able to purchase a 1/8" thick sheet of this material in opaque white from an online vendor. This replaced the backing plate supplied by Dennis - the rest of the assembly was installed per the instructions.

The plans don't call for an actual level sensor, per se. Many builders opt to install either resistive or capacitive senders, but there are reliability problems. From another online source I managed to find a tank level sensor made from the same material - PPS. It's a magnetic reed switch mounted on a small, hinged float assembly. The part, Cynergy part #RSF86Y100R, has an NPT threaded fitting. Perfect.

Now there is one in each sump acting as an emergency-level alarm trigger. There are also four in each tank wall, spaced evenly (on the diagonal so they don't interfere with one another). They're installed in an aluminum plate, drilled and tapped for the NPT sensor.

The idea here is that this can drive a simple bar graph or other display to produce a VERY reliable, albeit coarse-grained, display of fuel level.

Step 3 - 3
Status: Not Started 
Est Time: 0.00, Actual: 0.00
Est Cost: $ 0.00, Actual: $ 0.00
Date Completed: 10/20/2005

Step 4 - 4
Status: Not Started 
Est Time: 0.00, Actual: 0.00
Est Cost: $ 0.00, Actual: $ 0.00
Date Completed: 10/20/2005

Step 5 - 5
Status: Not Started 
Est Time: 0.00, Actual: 0.00
Est Cost: $ 0.00, Actual: $ 0.00
Date Completed: 10/20/2005

Step 6 - 6
Status: Not Started 
Est Time: 0.00, Actual: 0.00
Est Cost: $ 0.00, Actual: $ 0.00
Date Completed: 10/20/2005

Step 7 - 7
Status: Not Started 
Est Time: 0.00, Actual: 0.00
Est Cost: $ 0.00, Actual: $ 0.00
Date Completed: 10/20/2005

Step 8 - 8
Status: Not Started 
Est Time: 0.00, Actual: 0.00
Est Cost: $ 0.00, Actual: $ 0.00
Date Completed: 10/20/2005

Step 9 - 9
Status: Not Started 
Est Time: 0.00, Actual: 0.00
Est Cost: $ 0.00, Actual: $ 0.00
Date Completed: 10/20/2005

Step 10 - 10
Status: Not Started 
Est Time: 0.00, Actual: 0.00
Est Cost: $ 0.00, Actual: $ 0.00
Date Completed: 10/20/2005